Home range, habitat use and pup attendance of red wolves ( Canis rufus) during the pup rearing season

• Main Author: Hinton, Joseph William
• Other Authors: Siemann, Evan
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Ecology; Forestry; Wildlife management; Agriculture; Biology; Canis lupus
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1911/17882

Despite a 20 year reintroduction effort into northeastern North Carolina, little is known about the natural history and ecology of red wolves (Canis rufus). In 2005, I studied home ranges, habitat use and pup attendance of red wolves during the pup rearing season. Data indicated that red wolves have home range sizes intermediate between those of coyotes (Canis latrans) and gray wolves (Canis lupus). Similar to other canids in the eastern United States, red wolves preferred to use extensive agricultural fields during the summer months rather than adjacent wooded areas. Red wolves abandoned dens early to move pups into adjacent agricultural fields. Consistent with pup rearing studies done on gray wolves, red wolf pups were rarely left alone indicating that red wolves share duties of pup rearing and that males play a significant role in the rearing of red wolf pups.